Bhagchandra (Bhaskar) Jain (born on 11 September 1936) is an Indian scholar, renowned for his knowledge of

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

, and of classical Indian languages including

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

. His career has spanned more than five decades. He is the recipient of the 2004 "Presidential Award" for his contribution to Pali-Prakrit languages and Buddhism & Jainism religions. Bhagchandraji received his Ph.D. from Vidyodaya (University of Ceylon) in 1966. His dissertation was later published as ''Jainism in Buddhist Literature'' in 1972, which has since emerged as a major reference on the topic. He was Head of Department of

and

Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...

Nagpur University Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU), formerly Nagpur University, is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Nagpur, Maharashtra. It is one of India's oldest universities, as well as th ...

from 1965 to 1996, and he served as the director of Parshvanath Vidyapith at

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

from 1999 to 2001. He is currently working as a Professor Emeritus in JAIN Vishwabharti (Deemed University), Ladnun in Rajasthan. Previously, he worked at JRRS University, Jaipur as Professor & Head of Jain Philosophy as well. Mr. Bhagchandra Jain’s scholarly contributions include more than ''60 books and 300 research papers'', and he has been a visiting Professor at universities in the United States, Canada, and Europe. He is a recipient of three Doctor of Literature (

D.Litt. Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

) degrees viz. D.Litt. (Sanskrit), D.Litt. (Pali – Prakrit) and D.Litt. (Hindi) which has not been achieved by anyone else in the world and is a world record. In addition, he is a holder of M.A. (Ancient Indian History, Culture, and Archaeology), M.A. (Pali), and M.A. (Sanskrit, Shastracharya (Prakrit and Jain Darshan), Acharya (Sanskrit Sahitya)). Bhagchandra has received several awards and honors, including the Presidential Certificate of Honour in Pali/Prakrit in 2004. Mr. Bhagchandra Jain served as an editor of several periodicals including Jain Milan, Ratnatraya, Suddharma, Shramana, Nagpur University Journal, and Prachin Tirth Jirnoddhar; and has represented

, Buddhism and

Indology Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the History of India, history and Culture of India, cultures, Languages of South Asia, languages, and Indian literature, literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a ...

at World Religious Conferences (including Harvard University) and chaired the sessions in the U.S., U.K., Canada and European countries. He is married to Dr. Pushpalata Jain, former Head of the Department of

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

at St. Francis de Sales College,

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...

References

External links

Jain Pracheen Teerth Jeernodhar Journal

Jain Samaj Online Directory

National Library of Australia Catalogue

List of selected books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jain, Bhagchandra 1939 births Living people Indian Indologists 20th-century Indian Jain writers Indian Sanskrit scholars